Will You Go On A Date With Me?
by houseofanubislover10897
Summary: Ben asks Mal out after they witness Audrey cheating on him with Chad
1. What If I Want You To Be Both?

**Mal's POV**

"No way! Really?!" Ben laughs as we walk by my locker. I just got finished telling him about the time Jay and Carlos tackled Evie in the mud when we were kids.

"Yup, and afterwards Evie chased them all the way to the woods screaming about how they ruined her clothes" I laugh, remembering how Jay had provoked her into chasing them by saying 'I'm pretty sure Boradon girls pay to have the same treatment'.

"Haha remind me to never get on Evie's bad side" he laughs and I grin at him slightly.

"Trust me, you couldn't even if you wanted to" I say, shaking my head.

"And why not?" he asks mock affended.

"You're too nice, you'd feel bad if you even bumped into her by accident" I say honestly and he pouts.

"I can be bad" he huffs and I burst out laughing.

"That's a good joke" I say in between laughs.

"Maaal" he whines which only makes me laugh harder.

"Hey Benny Boo!" an annoying voice calls out and I stop laughing in favor of frowning.

"Oh hey Audrey" Ben says, instantly calming himself down.

"Seriously you need to stop pitying these nobodies" she says as she stands in front of us, her nose wrinkled in disgust as she looks at me.

"Audrey we have been over this, I want to give the vks a chance to live here in Auradon. This should have happened a long time ago" he says exasperated.

"Whatever" Audrey huffs before stoping away in front of us, making sure to wiggle her hips suggestively. Ben sighs and looks down at the ground as he leans against the lockers. I don't know why he puts up with her, she's obviously just using him so she can possibly become Q ueen someday. I shake that thought out of my head, that's not important right now. What is important is the boy with honey brown hair and green eyes that's looking completely dejected.

"Hey are you okay?" I ask quietly, taking a few more steps towards him.

"Yeah" he sighs, not looking up at me just yet.

"Yeah I'm okay, I just wish more people would understand what I'm trying to do" he says sadly, looking up at me with a lost expression in his eyes. As soon as those green orbs look at me I know I'm not going to go through with my mother's plan, I can't hurt him like that.

"I understand why they're not thrilled to have us here" I say gently and he opens his mouth to say something.

"We're the kids of their families enemies, in their eyes we're nothing but replicas of our parents and we belong on the Isle Of The Lost. We deserve to be forgotten" I say before looking away from him.

"But that's not true! You guys are innocent, you've done nothing to anyone here! You weren't even born yet when your parents did those things!" he exclaims, looking right at me.

"But it's easy to assume, they need someone to blame and we got the short end of the stick. And there's no use crying over it when it can'can't be taken back, you can't change the past you can only deal with it" I say with a shrug.

"You sound like someone that's already given up" he says as he stops in front of me, preventing me from moving any farther.

"What is there to give up? When you already have nothing you have nothing to lose!" I exclaim and he frowns.

"Mal I-" he says gently but I cut him off with a sigh and a hand on his shoulder.

"Look I appreciate what you're trying to do for us, really I do. But a leopard can't change it's spots, we weren't born to be around your kind in peace" I say, patting his shoulder before moving around him and walking away.

"Please don't talk like that" he pleads, grabbing my wrist from behind me.

"I'm just telling you the truth, it might sound harsh but that's reality" I say as I turn my head to look at him.

"And if you were smart, you'd stay away from me" I say before wiggling out of his grip and continuing to walk away.

"But I don't want to stay away from you!" he says as he jogs beside me.

"You should, I'm the daughter of the worst Villain in the land. I'm nothing but bad news" I say, not even looking at him. We're not going through my mom's plan but that doesn't mean I'm going to drag him down by letting him hang around me.

"You're not bad news Mal" he says softly as we hurry down the hallway.

"Yes I am, you're just to naive to see it while everyone else does" I say as we begin going down the stairs.

"That's not true" he says, and I hear his voice break slightly.

"Yes it is, and the sooner you realize that the better off you'll be" I say as I turn the corner once we're off the stairs.

"Mal-" he begins to protest before freezing next to me with a sad look on his face.

"Ben what's wr-" I begin to ask as I turn my head towards whatever he's looking at, only to have my eyes widen in shock. Chad and Audrey are making out heatedly against some lockers in the corner under the stairs.

"Hey!" I shout and they immediately stop, their eyes widen in horror when they see who is next to me.

"Benny-" Audrey says as she begins to untangle herself from Chad.

"Save it! We're over!" he says before storming off.

"Proud of yourselves? You just proved you're no better than us" I say before rushing after my favorite prince.

"Ben!" I call out as I run around the campus. I hear quiet sobs and follow the sound to the statue of King Beast. As soon as I'm close enough to it I see Ben curled up with his back against the front of it as he cries into his knees.

"Ben" I say gently, moving to crouch down in front of him, our knees brushing slightly.

"Ben" I say again, gently touching his shoulder. He flinches slightly but relaxes against my touch.

"You were right" I hear him mumble into his knees.

"Reality is harsh, I shouldn't be so naive" he sobs and my heart breaks as my own words are thrown back at me.

"Oh Ben no-" I say as I begin reaching out to hug him.

"Maybe then I'd have a girlfriend that wouldn't cheat on me and a best friend that wouldn't betray me" he says emotionlessly and my eyes widen, I don't like this Ben.

"Come here" I say gently before wrapping my arms around his shoulders and pulling him to me. He clings to me instantly and nuzzles himself into my shoulder.

"I've got you, I'm so sorry I was wrong to say that" I whisper into his ear as I rock us slightly. He sniffs and cuddles even closer to me.

"I like you the way you are, even if you're too innocent for your own good at times" I say with a small laugh.

"Does this mean I don't have to stay away from you?" he mumbles hopefully and I smile.

"Yes" I say and he clings on to me tighter.

"You're stuck with me" I say gently, rubbing his back.

"And forget about Chad, I'll be your best friend. I won't hurt you" I say soothingly, nuzzling my face into his hair slightly.

"But what if I want you to be both?" he mumbles and I shift so I can look him in the eyes.

"What?" I ask curiously, there's no way he said what I thought he just said.

"What if I want you to be my best friend and my _girlfriend_ " he asks and I look at him stunned.

"I-" I begin to say only to be cut off my his lips gently pressing against mine. I'm so surprised that I fall backwards with him on top of me, still kissing me as if he needed me as much as he needs air. After the surprise melts away I close my eyes and kiss back, letting my fingers run through his hair gently.


	2. The Enchanted Lake

**Mal's POV**

Ben nuzzles himself closer to me and I sigh in content. We're currently having our first date at a lake in the middle of the woods with stone ruins.

"Are you warm enough?" he asks gently, and I nod against his chest. I had just jumped in the water because I thought Ben might of drowned, but he ended up saving me instead. I pull his jacket closer and put my arms through the sleeves.

"I'm sorry about that" he says guiltily and hugs me closer.

"It's okay" I say calmly, leaning up and kissing his cheek.

"Remind me to teach you how to swim" he says and I laugh.

"I actually wouldn't mind never going into water ever again if you don't mind" I say playfully and he lets out a small laugh.

"But it'd be more fun to swim with you" he whines and I giggle.

"Alright I'll make you a deal" I say with a playful smirk.

"What kind of deal?" he asks curiously, shifting our position so we're looking at each other.

"If you do workouts with me I'll do swimming lessons with you" I propose, and he grins at the idea.

"Deal" he says happily, rubbing his nose against mine. I laugh and playfully nip on his bottom lip, causing him to let out a small moan. He kisses me gently and for a moment nothing else exists.

"How'd I get so lucky for you to say yes?" he pants, resting his forehead against mine. We've been dating for two weeks and have basically become inseparable.

"I think I'm the lucky one" I say before moving to kiss his forehead. He closes his eyes as my lips are about touch his skin, and opens them slowly when I lean back down. He hugs me to him again and I playfully push him on to his back.

"What are you doing?" he laughs as he looks up at me.

"Enjoying the view" I say before leaning down and kissing him. He kisses back and gently holds on to my waist. After a moment he rolls us on to our sides and we cuddle up on the blanket holding our picnic.

"This has been a perfect first date" I say softly and he smiles at me.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it" he says, drawing me closer to him.

"Wanna get started on those swimming lessons?" he asks with a smile and I frown slightly.

"But I don't have anything to swim in" I point out, gesturing to my still damp dress.

"I packed an extra T-shirt and some shorts just incase" he says bashfully, and I laugh at the light blush coloring his cheeks.

"Alright go ahead and get in the water, but no peaking!" I say warningly and he laughs before giving me a quick kiss and walking off. I quickly get changed into the spare clothes and look at the water nervously.

"Ready?" I hear Ben call out, and I look up to see him on the little ledge he jumped from earlier.

"Ready as I'll ever be" I call out nervously and he canonball's into the water again. He quickly swims over to the ledge of the ruins I'm standing next to and looks up at me, the water just below his waist.

"It's alright I'm right here" he says encouragingly as he opens arms for me. I just continue to look on nervously as I lower myself to the ground and lower my legs into the water.

"I-I change my mind" I stutter as my heart begins to beat faster.

"Hey hey" he says soothingly, moving in front of me and gently rubbing my knees.

"I'm right here, I won't let anything hurt you" he promises and I begin taking deep breaths to calm down.

"Okay" I say in a small voice and he frowns slightly.

"Maybe this isn't a good idea" he says and I see a little dissapointment in his eyes.

"No! No it's okay" I say quickly, I don't wanna dissapoint him. He holds my hips and helps lower me into the water.

"It's okay, you're being so brave for me love" he says gently as he wraps his arms around me after he makes sure my legs are wrapped tightly around his waist. He slowly walks backwards so we're a chest deep in the water.

"I've got you, I won't let you go I promise" he says before kissing my cheek.

"I-I believe you" I stutter before nuzzling my face into his neck and closing my eyes. I sigh into his neck and he cuddles me closer to him.

"This is all I wanted, for you to give being in water a chance" he says before kissing my jaw and I open my eyes.

"You don't have to swim, I don't mind just holding you like this" he says as he carefully bends down so the water is below our shoulders. I let out a shaky breath and try not to panic.

"You alright? Do you want me to stand up?" he asks me concerned. I don't trust my voice so I just nod my head, tightening my arms around his neck. Without another words he tightens his grip around my waist and stands back up so the water isn't so high up against me.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you to do this" he mumbles, and I don't need to be able to see him to know he has a guilty expression on his face.

"It's okay" I mumble against his neck, causing him to shiver.

"Wanna finish our picnic?" he asks sweetly and I smile.

"Yes please" I say, turning my head so I can kiss his cheek. He shifts me in his arms so he's holding me bridal style and I giggle as he carries me back to the ruins and places me down on the stone structure before pulling himself up and shaking water out of his hair. He puts his jacket back around my shoulders and we sit across from each other on the soft blue blanket. We smile at each other and eat pieces of fruit as we talk about a bunch of little things.

"Um...Ben" I say seriously after a moment, wanting to explain why I don't like water.

"Yes Mal?" he says, and I see a bit of worry in his eyes.

"Listen...about me not wanting to swim-" I begin to say.

"No no, don't worry about it" he says soothingly, shaking his head.

"I want to tell you why I'm scared of water" I continue and his eyes widen in surprise.

"It was a long time ago...I was seven, maybe eight years old" I start, and the memory comes flooding back.

"I was on the docks by Pirate Bay and my now ex friend Uma and I had had a falling out months before" I continue, trying my best to block out the memory.

"She shoved me because she was angry about something, I don't even remember what about anymore" I say, shaking my head.

"I lost my balance and fell into the water, I tried calling to her for help as I struggled to keep my head above the surface" I say and tears start sliding down his cheeks.

"She just stood there and watched as if it was the funniest thing in the world, and after a moment my head went under the water again and I couldn't get it back up, everything became dark and I was starting to lose consiousness" I say while looking down at my lap. Ben sniffles and I look up to see him silently crying. He holds his arms open for me and I take the hint. I crawl on to his lap and he holds me close to him, as if he needs to be reasurred that I'm here with him and not at the bottom of the ocean.

"The last thing I remember is waking up to a soaked Harry Hook giving me CPR and his older sister Harriet screaming her head off at Uma" I finish with a shrug as I blink away my own tears, nuzzling my face against his shoulder. He lets out a low whine and holds me impossibly closer as he buries his face into my neck, and I feel his warm tears dampen my neck.

"Shhh it's alright, I'm still here" I say soothingly, running my fingers through his hair.

"You're safe with me I swear, I'll never stop protecting you" he promises before kissing my jaw. And I cup his cheeks with both hands before leaning forward and kissing him sweetly.


End file.
